Encoder adaptation

ABSTRACT

An adaptive control system for a media encoder configured to encode a media data stream in accordance with a set of one or more encode parameters, the system comprising: an input queue for receiving a sequence of data portions representing a media stream; and an adaptation controller configured to form an accumulation parameter indicative of an incidence of accumulation events at the input queue, each accumulation event representing the reception of an incoming data portion into the input queue while a previous data portion in the sequence is in the input queue; the adaptation controller being configured to control the encode parameters of the media encoder in dependence on the accumulation parameter.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to an adaptive control system for a mediaencoder.

In real-time video telephony, dynamic and high system loads at atransmitting device supporting a video encoder can lead to degradationof video quality at the receiving device due to overload of the videoencoder. This can be observed in the received video stream as increasedend-to-end delays, delay spikes, frame freezes and jerky play-out. It istherefore important to ensure that the demands made of a video encoderare well-matched to its capabilities. This is generally straightforwardto achieve for any given device, but presents a significant challengewhen the video encoder might be supported at a wide range of differentdevices.

In order to estimate the capabilities of a video encoder as embodied ata given device, a combination of two different types of metrics isusually employed. Static metrics provide a measure of the theoreticalperformance of the architecture in which the video encoder is supported.For a software encoder, static metrics might include maximum processorfrequency, system bus frequency, and the number of processor cores inthe system. However, such metrics do not provide an accurate measure ofthe abilities of an encoder at a given point in time.

Dynamic metrics can help to improve the estimate of the capabilities ofa video encoder by introducing measurements of the actual performance ofthe underlying device. For a software encoder, dynamic metrics mightinclude process and thread execution times, measures of the idle time ofa processor, and current processor frequency. However, such dynamicmetrics suffer from a variety of problems. For multi-threaded encoders,measurements of execution times are unreliable due to context switching.And in systems having multiple cores, average measurements of idle timecan be unreliable because some cores might be lightly loaded whileothers are overloaded.

In modern systems, the problems of using existing metrics as estimatesof the load on a software video encoder can be even more acute.Multi-threading, virtualization and the use of logical processors allpose further problems to the use of static metrics. Often systems alsomake use of voltage and frequency scaling, as well as dynamicallyswitching on and off processor cores, to improve energy efficiency,particularly in portable devices.

It can be more difficult to estimate the load on a hardware videoencoder because the capabilities of the hardware video encoder are oftenlargely independent of the capabilities of the device at which it isprovided. For example, while a CPU of the device is largely idling, thehardware encoder might be fully loaded. In devices that make use ofhardware encoders in the encoder pipeline the use of conventional staticand dynamic metrics to estimate encoder load can be wholly inaccurate.

As well as leading to poor adaptation of an encoder to its real-timecapabilities, the use of existing metrics as a measure of encoder loadmake it difficult to accurately perform dynamic calibration of a videoencoder. This is because conventional calibration mechanisms generallyrequire some measure of encoder load in order to judge when theprocessing capabilities of the encoder are exceeded.

The above issues are not limited to video encoders, with other types ofmedia encoder facing similar problems.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is providedan adaptive control system for a media encoder configured to encode amedia data stream in accordance with a set of one or more encodeparameters, the system comprising:

-   -   an input queue for receiving a sequence of data portions        representing a media stream; and    -   an adaptation controller configured to form an accumulation        parameter indicative of an incidence of accumulation events at        the input queue, each accumulation event representing the        reception of an incoming data portion into the input queue        whilst a previous data portion in the sequence is in the input        queue; the adaptation controller being configured to control the        encode parameters of the media encoder in dependence on the        accumulation parameter.

In embodiments of the invention, machine readable code can be providedfor generating the adaptive control system. In embodiments of theinvention, a machine readable storage medium having encoded thereonnon-transitory machine readable code can be provided for generating theadaptive control system.

The adaptation controller may be configured to control the encodeparameters of the media encoder so as to adapt the encoding performed bythe media encoder in response to variations in resources available tothe media encoder.

The accumulation parameter may represent a measure of the proportion ofdata portions received into the input queue that result in accumulationevents.

The accumulation parameter may be calculated in respect of anaccumulation interval such that the accumulation parameter is indicativeof an incidence of accumulation events at the input queue within theaccumulation interval.

Each data portion may have an associated timestamp and the adaptationcontroller may be configured to:

-   -   on each accumulation event occurring in the input queue within        the accumulation interval, calculate the time difference between        the timestamp of the incoming data portion and the timestamp of        the previous data portion; and    -   form the accumulation parameter by summing over the time        differences calculated in respect of the accumulation events        occurring within the accumulation interval and expressing the        sum of the time differences as a proportion of the accumulation        interval.

The adaptation controller may be configured to, on reaching the end ofthe accumulation interval, control the set of encode parameters of themedia encoder in dependence on the accumulation parameter calculated inrespect of the accumulation interval.

The adaptation controller may be configured to use the accumulationparameter as a measure of load on the media encoder in an adaptationalgorithm arranged to control the set of encode parameters of the mediaencoder so as to substantially maintain the load on the media encoderwithin predetermined bounds.

The adaptation controller may be configured to use the accumulationparameter as a measure of load on the media encoder by comparing theaccumulation parameter to a set of threshold values so as to identify acorresponding one of a plurality of load metrics for use in theadaptation algorithm.

The adaptation controller may be configured to make use of a hysteresiscomponent in performing said comparison so as to prevent changes in theload metric due to small changes in the accumulation parameter.

The hysteresis component may be approximately 10% of a normalizedmaximum of the accumulation parameter.

The adaptive control system may further comprise a data store holding ahierarchy of sets of one or more encode parameters each having anassociated demand on the media encoder, wherein the adaptationcontroller may be arranged to select between causing the media encoderto:

-   -   maintain its current set of encode parameters;    -   adapt upward to a set of encode parameters associated with a        greater demand on the media encoder; and    -   adapt downward to a set of encode parameters associated with a        lesser demand on the media encoder;        in dependence on the measure of load represented by the        accumulation parameter.

The associated demand held in the data store for each set of encodeparameters may represent a minimum data processing rate required of themedia encoder.

The media stream may be a video stream and the minimum data processingrate may represent a rate of macro block processing.

The adaptation controller may be configured to, in response to causingthe media encoder to adapt upwards and subsequently to adapt backdownwards within a predetermined length of time, not cause the mediaencoder to adapt upwards within an adaptation interval.

The adaptation interval may be calculated by increasing the currentvalue of the adaptation interval substantially in proportion to thecurrent value of the adaptation interval.

The adaptation interval may be calculated by increasing the currentvalue of the adaptation interval substantially in proportion to theratio of a measure of the demand on the media encoder associated withthe next encode parameters up in the hierarchy to a measure of thedemand on the media encoder associated with the current encodeparameters in the hierarchy.

The adaptation controller may be further configured to control theencode parameters of the media encoder in dependence on one or moreadditional parameters of the adaptive control system or its environment.

The previous data portion may be the data portion immediately precedingthe incoming data portion in the sequence of data portions.

Each data portion received into the input queue may include anassociated timestamp.

The sequence of data portions may be received at the input queue suchthat consecutive data portions in the sequence are received spaced apartin time substantially in accordance with their respective timestamps.

The media stream may be a video stream and the encode parameters includeone or more of frame rate, frame resolution and a target bitrate for theencoded data stream.

Each data portion of the sequence of data portions received at the inputqueue may be a video frame.

The input queue may be decoupled from the source of the data portionssuch that the rate of reception of data portions at the input queue doesnot depend on the rate of encoding of the data portions by the mediaencoder.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provideda method of controlling a media encoder for encoding a media data streamin accordance with a set of one or more encode parameters, the methodcomprising:

-   -   receiving a sequence of data portions representing a media        stream; and    -   forming an accumulation parameter indicative of an incidence of        accumulation events at the input queue, each accumulation event        representing the reception of an incoming data portion into the        input queue whilst a previous data portion in the sequence is in        the input queue; and    -   controlling the encode parameters of the media encoder in        dependence on the accumulation parameter.

Each data portion may have an associated timestamp and the step offorming an accumulation parameter may comprise:

-   -   on each accumulation event occurring in the input queue within        the accumulation interval, calculating a time difference between        the timestamp of the incoming data portion and the timestamp of        the previous data portion;    -   summing over the time differences calculated in respect of the        accumulation events occurring within the accumulation interval;        and    -   expressing the sum of the time differences as a proportion of        the accumulation interval, said proportion being the        accumulation parameter.

In embodiments of the invention, machine readable code can be providedfor implementing the method of controlling a media encoder. Inembodiments of the invention, a machine readable storage medium havingencoded thereon non-transitory machine readable code can be provided forimplementing the method of controlling a media encoder.

There is provided a data processing system for calibrating a media codecoperable to encode and decode a media stream comprising a sequence oftime-stamped frames, the data processing system comprising:

-   -   an encoder subsystem configured to perform encoding in        accordance with one or more encode parameters;    -   a decoder subsystem; and    -   a calibration system comprising:        -   a data store for storing an encoded media stream; and        -   a calibration monitor configured to, on the media codec            entering a calibration mode, cause:            -   the decoder subsystem to decode the encoded media stream                so as to generate a decoded media stream;            -   the encoder subsystem to re-encode said decoded media                stream; and            -   the re-encoded media stream to pass back into the                decoder subsystem;                the calibration monitor being configured to, through                variation of the encode parameters of the encoder                subsystem, identify maximal encode parameters                corresponding to the greatest steady-state demand on the                media codec that permits decoding of the sequence of                time-stamped frames at a rate in accordance with their                associated timestamps.

In embodiments of the invention, machine readable code can be providedfor generating the data processing system. In embodiments of theinvention, a machine readable storage medium having encoded thereonnon-transitory machine readable code can be provided for generating thedata processing system.

The calibration monitor may be configured to vary the encode parametersof the encoder and decoder subsystems in accordance with a predeterminedalgorithm so as to identify the maximal encode parameters.

The media codec may be adaptive and the calibration monitor isconfigured to allow the encode parameters of the encoder subsystem toadapt according to an adaptation algorithm of the encoder subsystem.

The decoder subsystem may be configured to perform encoding inaccordance with one or more decode parameters, and the calibrationmonitor may be further configured to, through variation of the decodeparameters of the decoder subsystem, identify maximal decode parameterscorresponding to the greatest steady-state demand on the media codecthat permits decoding of the sequence of time-stamped frames at a ratein accordance with their associated timestamps.

The data processing system may further comprise a network simulationunit for connection between the encoder and decoder subsystems andconfigured to introduce network characteristics calculated according toa predefined model into an encoded media stream passing through it, thecalibration monitor being configured to cause the re-encoded mediastream to pass through the network simulation unit before passing backinto the decoder subsystem.

Suitably the network characteristics include one or more of data loss,data errors and jitter.

The predefined model may be configured so as to cause networkcharacteristics to be introduced on a pseudo-random basis.

The encoder subsystem may comprise a pre-processor and an encoder, theencoder being configured to perform encoding in accordance with one ormore encode parameters and the pre-processor being arranged before theencoder in the encoder subsystem, wherein the pre-processor isconfigured to rescale at least some of the sequence of time-stampedframes received from the decoder subsystem.

The pre-processor may be configured to rescale at least some of thesequence of time-stamped frames by reducing the size of those frames.

The calibration monitor may be configured to cause the encoder subsystemto sleep for a determined period of time following each successfullyencoded frame, said period of time being determined so as to cause theencoder subsystem to become overloaded by the encoded media stream.

There is provided a method of calibrating a media codec for encoding anddecoding a media stream comprising a sequence of time-stamped frames,the media codec comprising an encoder subsystem configured to performencoding in accordance with one or more encode parameters and a decodersubsystem, the method comprising:

-   -   playing out a stored encoded media stream to the decoder        subsystem so as to cause the decoder subsystem to decode the        encoded media stream and generate a decoded media stream;    -   causing the encoder subsystem to re-encode said decoded media        stream;    -   looping the re-encoded media stream back into the decoder        subsystem; and    -   through variation of the encode parameters of the encoder        subsystem, identifying maximal encode parameters corresponding        to the greatest steady-state demand on the media codec that        permits decoding of the sequence of time-stamped frames at a        rate in accordance with their associated timestamps.

In embodiments of the invention, machine readable code can be providedfor implementing the method of calibrating a media codec. In embodimentsof the invention, a machine readable storage medium having encodedthereon non-transitory machine readable code can be provided forimplementing the method of calibrating a media codec.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described by way of example withreference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an adaptive control system.

FIG. 2 shows a stream of frames within an accumulation interval.

FIG. 3 shows a frame being receiving into an input queue in which aprevious frame of the stream is already present.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of camera call back arrangement.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of transmit control in a media encoder.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of an encoder process in a media encoder.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a calibration system for an adaptivemedia encoder.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following description is presented by way of example to enable anyperson skilled in the art to make and use the invention. The presentinvention is not limited to the embodiments described herein and variousmodifications to the disclosed embodiments will be readily apparent tothose skilled in the art.

There is a need for an adaptive control system that provides improvedencoder performance across a wide range of encoder architectures byminimising, or reducing, overload conditions, as well as an improvedcalibration system for such encoders.

An adaptive control system is provided with an adaptation controllerconfigured to control encode parameters of a media encoder in accordancewith an accumulation parameter. The accumulation parameter may be formedso as to be indicative of an incidence of accumulation events, whereineach accumulation event represents the reception of a new data bufferinto an input queue of the adaptive control system whilst an earlierdata buffer is in the input queue. The accumulation parameter is usefulas a measure of load on a media encoder, particularly for a mediaencoder arranged to perform real-time encoding of media buffers such asa media encoder in a real-time video telephony system.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a data processing system having anadaptive control system 100 for controlling an encoder 104 of an encodersubsystem 102. The adaptive control system 100 comprises an input queue106 and adaptation controller 107. The adaptive control system 100 mayoperate on an encoder 104 arranged to encode buffers received into theinput queue. The term “buffer” is used herein to refer to a portion ofdata on which the encoder 104 can operate. Along with the input queue106, encoder 104 forms part of an encoder subsystem 102 which receives amedia stream comprising a sequence of data buffers from media source 101and provides an encoded media stream to media consumer 108. The mediastream could be any kind of media stream, such as a video and/or audiostream.

The encoder subsystem optionally further comprises a preprocessor 103for processing data buffers received from the media source prior toencoding, and a packetizer 105 for forming the encoded media stream intopacket-sized chunks of payload data.

The encoder 104 performs encoding of the received media stream inaccordance with one or more encode parameters controlled by theadaptation controller 107. These parameters determine, for a givensource media stream, the nature of the encoding performed by the encoder104. For example, the encode parameters could define the encoding formatto be used, a target bitrate, a level of compression, and/or settingsparticular to the encoding format in use at the encoder 104. In theevent the media stream is a video stream, the encode parameters couldinclude, for example, a video format, a frame size and a target framerate.

Broadly speaking, the role of the adaptation controller 107 is to adaptthe encode parameters of the encoder 104 so as to match the resourcesrequired by the encoding process to the resources available at theencoder 104. This is achieved by means of an accumulation parameter.

The adaptive control system 100 will now be described by way of examplewith reference to a media encoder in which: the media source is a cameraproviding a stream of video frames; the encoder subsystem is configuredto generate an encoded media stream from the video frames; and the mediaconsumer is a transmission subsystem for transmitting the encoded mediastream generated by the encoder over a network. Such an encodersubsystem might, for instance, be employed to perform encoding of videoframes for real-time video telephony.

In other embodiments, the media source could be, for example, a datastore from which a sequence of data buffers representing a media streamis played-out, an entity for synthesizing a media stream, or a receiverarranged to provide a sequence of data buffers received over a network.And the media consumer could alternatively be, for example, a data storefor storing the encoded media stream, or a display system for displayingthe encoded data stream.

In the present embodiment, the stream of video frames received from thecamera is initially received by preprocessor 103, which can processframes prior to encoding by performing functions such as colourconversion, frame rescaling, frame rotation and/or mirroring. Theprocessed frames then pass onto the encoder 104 for encoding beforebeing formed into data packets at packetizer 105. The transmissionsubsystem therefore receives an encoded media stream in the form of asequence of data packets on which transmit processing can be performedso as to generate a flow of network packets for transmission over thenetwork. Various quality of service protocols may be in use over thenetwork with the aim of maintaining a robust transport mechanism for thenetwork packets; such protocols will not be discussed here.

The resources available to the encoder 104 will generally vary over timein response to other demands on the system at which the encoder issupported and factors such as power saving measures, thermal throttlingor load-dependent frequency scaling which can lead to sudden changes inthe frequency at which a processor used by the encoder 104 is clocked.For example, if the encoder 104 is a software process, the encoder 104would typically share its resources with other processes running at theprocessor at which it is supported. The load on the encoder 104 at anygiven moment in time therefore depends on the processing demand on theencoder 104 (e.g. in macroblocks per second) relative to the resourcesavailable to the encoder 104.

In the event the resources available to the encoder 104 drop below thelevel required to maintain a particular rate of processing (e.g. inmacroblocks per second), the encoder 104 would become overloaded and therate at which frames are encoded would fall below the rate at whichframes are being received at the encoder subsystem 102. In a real-timevideo telephony context, this can lead to problems such as increasedend-to-end delays, delay spikes, frame freezes and jerky play-out at areceiver of the encoded stream.

The adaptive control system 100 described herein provides a mechanismfor dynamically adapting the encode parameters of the encoder 104 so asto avoid overloading the encoder 104. This is achieved by identifyingaccumulation events occurring at the input queue 106, as will now bedescribed with reference to FIG. 3.

The encoder 104 is configured to process data buffers received into theinput queue. For a given input media stream, if the encoder is not tofall behind, the encoder should complete the encoding of a data bufferin time for the next data buffer to be received into the input queue106. In other words, the input queue would ideally be empty each time anew data buffer is received into it. With reference to FIG. 3, anaccumulation event occurs when a previous data buffer 202 is present inthe input queue 106 at the point when a new data buffer 203 is receivedinto the input queue 106. This is indicative that the load on theencoder 104 has at least momentarily increased above a level at whichthe current rate of processing can be maintained. The incidence ofaccumulation events can be expressed as an accumulation parameter andused as a measure of the severity of the load on the encoder. It isnoted that for a constant frame rate source, the accumulation parameteris proportional to the number of accumulation events occurring withinthe accumulation interval. However, in typical scenarios where camerasensors adjust exposure time in response to lighting conditions, theproportionality to number of events does not always hold. In such cases,it is advantageous to use a time-interval based approach rather than anevent rate approach, an example of which will now be described.

One way of calculating an accumulation parameter in the context of thepresent embodiment is as follows. FIG. 2 shows a stream of frames 202 to206 that are received from the camera into the input queue over thecourse of an accumulation interval 201 that extends between t_(start)and t_(end). A period of around 1 second is typically a suitable lengthof time for the accumulation interval 201 in a media encoder adapted forreal-time video telephony. Each frame is associated with a timestampt_(i), which could be a timestamp applied to the frames at the camera,or could be applied at the encoder subsystem 102 or adaptive controlsystem 100 (e.g. on reception at the input queue 106).

In the present embodiment, frames would typically be received from thecamera in real-time. For example, if the camera is operating at 10frames per second, 10 frames would be received into the input queue 106every second. In other words, frames 202 to 206 are received at a ratecommensurate with the rate of frame acquisition at the camera. Eachadjacent pair of frames of the media stream from the camera is spacedapart by a respective time Δt_(i), which can vary (possibly within anaccumulation interval) depending on the frame rate. For example, ifframes 202 and 203 are generating according to a frame rate of 10 framesper second, Δt₁ would be 0.1 s.

With reference again to FIG. 3, in order to calculate the accumulationparameter, each time an accumulation event occurs, the difference intime t₂−t₁ between the timestamp t₂ of the current incoming frame 203and the timestamp t₁ of the previous frame 202 is calculated. This timedifference is equal to Δt₁ as shown in FIG. 2. Within the accumulationinterval 201, these time differences are summed (i.e. accumulated) so asto provide a total of all of the time differences calculated in respectof accumulation events. A normalized value for the accumulationparameter in respect of that accumulation interval can then be formed bydividing the total of the time differences by the length of theaccumulation interval:

${{accumulation}\mspace{14mu}{parameter}} = \frac{\left( {\sum\;{{time}\mspace{14mu}{differences}}} \right)*100}{t_{end} - t_{start}}$

An accumulation parameter of zero therefore indicates that there were noaccumulation events within the accumulation interval. An accumulationparameter of 100 indicates that every incoming frame received within theaccumulation interval was received when a previous frame was present inthe buffer because the sum of the time differences is equal to thelength of the accumulation interval (in the event of significant jitteror delays occurring on the data path between the camera and input queuethis may not always be exactly true, but the accumulation parameternonetheless remains a useful metric by which to judge the load on theencoder). A value between 0 and 100 indicates that some of the incomingframes resulted in accumulation events. Since each accumulation event isindicative of a failure of the encoder to keep up with the incomingstream of frames, the accumulation parameter therefore provides a usefulmeasure of the average load at the encoder. The accumulation parametercan therefore provide an indication of the incidence rate ofaccumulation events at the input queue 106. As has been described in theabove example, the incidence rate can be time-weighted by the intervalbetween frames, as determined by the frame rate.

In a real-time video telephony context, it is preferred that theaccumulation parameter calculated in respect of an accumulation intervalreplaces any previous value for the accumulation parameter. This ensuresthat the encode parameters are rapidly adapted to changes in load at theencoder 104. Alternatively, the accumulation parameter could includecontributions from previous intervals (e.g. a weighted sum of theaccumulation parameters for the most recent and the previousaccumulation interval, with the accumulation parameter for the mostrecent interval receiving a greater weighting). In still furthervariations, the accumulation parameter could be constantly updatedthrough an accumulation interval in response to accumulation events. Theaccumulation interval could extend over any number of frames, includingone frame. The choice of length of the accumulation interval is likelyto depend on the characteristics of the particular encoder and the typeof media stream being encoded.

It should be appreciated that the above paragraphs merely provide onepossible definition of an accumulation parameter, and many other similarparameters could be readily derived that give an indication of theincidence of accumulation events, with all such parameters beingaccumulation parameters. The incidence of accumulation events can be ameasure of the rate at which accumulation events occur within theaccumulation interval, with each accumulation event preferably beingweighted according to the interval between frames at the time theaccumulation events occurs—this allows the accumulation event to providean accurate measure of encoder load even when the frame rate changesduring an accumulation interval.

The adaptation controller 107 is configured to use the accumulationparameter as a measure of load on the encoder 104 and hence control theencode parameters of the encoder so as to respond to changes inresources available to the encoder. For example, if the accumulationparameter increases above a threshold, or is above a threshold for apredefined length of time, the adaptation controller 107 could adapt theencode parameters of the encoder 104 so as to reduce the processingdemand on the encoder—say, by reducing the frame resolution parameterfrom 720p HD to 480p SD. To give a second example, if the accumulationparameter remains below a threshold for a predefined length of time, theadaptation controller 107 could adapt the encode parameters of theencoder 104 so as to increase the processing demand on the encoder—say,by increasing the frame rate parameter from 15 fps to 30 fps. Suchbehaviour is typically regulated by an adaptation algorithm which may infact receive further inputs that together determine whether in factadaptation of the encoder occurs. For example, if the encoded mediastream is transmitted over a network, adaptation may further depend onthere being available network bandwidth.

By recognising that the accumulation parameter can be used as a measureof encoder load, the adaptation controller 107 can be configured inaccordance with any adaptation algorithm suitable for use with theencoder 104. It can be useful to define a hierarchy of parameters, withthose parameters that place the greatest demand on the encoder andrelating to the highest encode quality at the top of the hierarchy, andthose parameters that place the least demand on the encoder and relatingto the lowest encode quality at the bottom of the hierarchy. Ondetermining that the demand on the encoder 104 is to beincreased/reduced—for example, in accordance with an adaptationalgorithm—the adaptation controller 107 can then cause the encoder toselect parameters up/down the hierarchy.

The hierarchy of encode parameters could be held in a data storeaccessible to the adaptation controller—for example, in a lookup tableinto which lookups are performed by the adaptation controller inaccordance with its determination to increase or decrease demand on theencoder.

It can be useful to classify the accumulation parameter with respect toone or more threshold values and use the classification identified bythe adaptation controller as a representation of load at the mediaencoder. In order to prevent the adaptation controller exhibitingunstable behaviour around any classification thresholds, it isadvantageous to make use of an adaptation algorithm that employshysteresis such that a change in classification depends on theclassification of the accumulation parameter at the end of the previousaccumulation interval as well as the apparent current classification ofthe accumulation parameter. This helps to avoid unnecessaryback-and-forth switching of the load classification due to smallfluctuations in the accumulation parameter close to a threshold valuebetween load classifications.

An exemplary algorithm for classifying the accumulation parameter willnow be described.

Three load classes are defined: HealthMetricPoor, HealthMetricModerateand HealthMetricGood, which correspond to high, medium and low loadconditions at the media encoder. For a normalized accumulation parameterbetween 0 and 100, an accumulation parameter below 40 is considered tobe in the HealthMetricGood class, between 40 and 80 is considered to bein the HealthMetricModerate class, and above 80 is considered to be inthe HealthMetricPoor class. The lower and upper threshold values aretherefore at 40 and 80, respectively. In this example the accumulationinterval is one second, with the load classification being performed atthe end of each accumulation interval. To improve the stability of thesystem, a hysteresis value of 10 is used, as will now be described. Moregenerally the hysteresis value could be any suitable value: for example,the hysteresis value could be 5, 8, 10, or 12.

At the end of the first accumulation interval, the accumulationparameter is simply classified according to its magnitude and the abovethresholds. For example, if the value of the accumulation parameter isinitially 37 then it will be classified as load class HealthMetricGood.At the end of subsequent accumulation intervals, the accumulationparameter (acc_param) is classified according to the followingpseudocode:

IF(acc_param < low threshold) THEN   IF((acc_param + hysteresis) > lowthreshold)     AND (previous load class > HealthMetricGood))     THENcurrent load class = HealthMetricModerate   ELSE current load class =HealthMetricGood ELSE IF (acc_param < high threshold)   IF((acc_param +hysteresis) > high threshold)     AND(previous load class ==HealthMetricPoor))     THEN current load class = HealthMetricPoor   ELSEcurrent load class = HealthMetricModerate ELSE IF (acc_param > highthreshold)   THEN current load class = HealthMetricPoor previous loadclass = current load class

The current load class output by this pseudocode at the end of eachaccumulation interval can itself be used a measure of load on theencoder. For example, the current load class could be used in anadaptation algorithm arranged to determine whether the encode parametersof an encoder should remain the same, adapt upwards to increase theencode quality and place a lesser demand on the encoder, or adaptdownwards to decrease the encode quality and place a lesser demand onthe encoder. The hysteresis (which in this example is 10) acts toprevent switching between load classifications due to small fluctuationsin accumulation parameter.

A very simple adaptation algorithm could be summarized as follows. Ifthe accumulation parameter is classified as HealthMetricGood, adaptupward; if the accumulation parameter is classified asHealthMetricModerate maintain the current encode parameters; if theaccumulation parameter is classified as HealthMetricPoor, adaptdownward. Typically however, more sophisticated algorithms known in theart would be employed with a view to achieving better encoderperformance. Encoder load is often just one of several parameters inaccordance with which the encode parameters of an encoder arecontrolled. For encoded media streams transmitted over a network,encoder adaptation is typically also performed in dependence on measuresof available network bandwidth such that adaptation does not simplydepend on the outcome of an algorithm adapted to respond to encoderload. For example, if the outcome of adaptation in response to encoderload suggests that the encode parameters of the encoder should beadapted upwards, this may not occur if the available network bandwidthis insufficient to handle the increased bitrate of the encoded mediastream. Encoder adaptation in response to changes in encoder load andencoder adaptation in response to changes in available network bandwidthcould both be determined using a common adaptation algorithm, or bymeans of separate algorithms. Bandwidth adaptation would typically beperformed prior to encoder load adaptation.

To avoid unstable cyclic switching behaviour, it can be useful to definea time interval that starts from any attempt by the adaptationcontroller to adapt upwards which resulted in the adaptation controlleradapting back downwards at the end of the next accumulation interval.The adaptation controller is prevented from causing the encoder to adaptupwards within that time interval from the previous attempt to adaptupwards. Such a time interval could be fixed, but improved stability isobserved with a time interval that varies in proportion to its currentlength and/or the ratio of the current encoder demand and the encoderdemand associated with the next higher level of encode parameters in thehierarchy. This time interval can be calculated each time the adaptationcontroller tries to adapt upwards but falls back at the end of the nextaccumulation interval. If the time interval varies in proportion to itscurrent length then it will vary exponentially.

Referring back to FIG. 1, it is advantageous if the adaptive controlsystem 100 is implemented such that the encoder subsystem 102 on whichit operates is decoupled from the media source 101 such that the rate ofbuffer generation by the media source does not depend on the bufferthroughput of the encoder subsystem. For example, in the case that theencoder subsystem and media source are implemented as softwareprocesses, it is advantageous to perform minimal processing in the callback function of the media source. A Call back function is executablecode passed from one piece of code as an argument to another piece ofcode so the latter can give a “call” back to the former to pass data,events and other information in response to events experienced by thelatter. For example, if an encoder function were passed as a call backfunction to a camera thread, (i.e. were coupled together) then thecamera thread could “call back” the encoder function along with cameradata as captured by the camera sensor. The executable code in the callback function could use the camera data to perform encoding. Anysubsequent processing in the camera thread would wait until allprocessing in that call back function is completed. In the presentembodiment in which the media source is a camera, decoupling the camerathread from any intensive processing of encoder subsystem ensures thatthe camera does not skip frames due to load in the call back function.Decoupling the encoder subsystem from the media source also ensures thatframes are delivered to the encoder subsystem as they are generated,rather than in response to some process completing at the encoder. Thisis significant because the adaptation mechanisms described herein can beto some extent driven by the timing at which frames are received intothe input queue of the encoder.

Decoupling of the media source from the encoder subsystem can beachieved through the use of buffer queues which allow the asynchronousoperation of the components either side of the queue. For example, FIG.4 illustrates a call back function called by a camera thread whichchecks whether there is available space in the output queue of thecamera: if so, the acquired frame is copied to the output queue; if not,the frame is skipped. Once this operation has been performed, the callback function completes. Its completion does not depend on any processat the encoder subsystem (see FIG. 5) to complete and the camera andencoder are therefore decoupled.

Each of the pre-processor 103, encoder 104 and packetizer 105 in FIG. 1can be provided with input and output queues in order to decouple theoperation of the components of the encoder subsystem 102. The inputqueue 106 would in this case preferably be the input queue of theencoder so that the input queue monitored by the adaptation controller107 is as close as possible to the encoder. Alternatively, input queue106 as referred to herein could be any buffer queue prior to the encoder104 in the encoder subsystem 102.

The operation of the encoder subsystem 102 in FIG. 1 is roughly set outin the flow diagram shown in FIG. 5, which illustrates the operation ofa transmit control thread. At 501, the input and output queues of thepre-processor are checked: the input queue for a new buffer and theoutput queue for available space. If there is a new buffer forpre-processing and a free space to write the pre-processed buffer tothen pre-processing is performed at step 502, otherwise the thread skipsto step 505.

On the pre-processor completing, the pre-processed buffer is written toits output queue. This could be one and the same as the encoder inputqueue 106, otherwise the buffer moves from the pre-processor outputqueue into the encoder input queue. At step 503, the accumulation logicrelating to the calculation of the accumulation parameter is run. Thiscan occur on the buffer being received into the encoder input queue. Inaccordance with the examples described herein, the accumulation logicmight calculate the time difference between the timestamps of thenewly-received buffer and a previous buffer in the queue and add this toa running total of the accumulated time differences over the currentaccumulation interval. The accumulation logic also checks whether theprogrammed accumulation interval has ended: if the interval has endedthe accumulation parameter is calculated in respect of that accumulationinterval.

Execution next passes to the encoder 104 which is called at step 504. Anoutline of the encoder process thread is illustrated in FIG. 6. Firstly,at step 601, the thread checks whether there is a buffer in the encoderinput queue and a free buffer in the output queue: if so, the frame isencoded 602; otherwise, the thread skips the encode and cycles back tothe beginning so as to wait for a new buffer to be received or an outputbuffer to become free.

Back in the transmit control thread of FIG. 5, the thread checks 505whether a buffer is queued in the encoder output queue. In this example,the packetizer does not have an input queue and is decoupled from theencoder by the encoder output queue only; in other examples there couldbe any number of queues between the encoder and packetizer. If a bufferis present in the encoder output queue, the packetizer runs 506 so as toprocess the encoded buffers generated by the encoder into data packetsfor, say, transmission over a network as the payload of network packets.

In the event that the encoder subsystem 102 is embodied in software, itmay be advantageous if both the transmit control thread and encoderprocess thread are mandated to sleep at the end of their respectiveprocessing loops as indicated by 507 in FIGS. 5 and 603 in FIG. 6. Insome examples, the sleep period is mandatory even if there are furtherbuffers awaiting processing in the encoder input queue. This ensuresthat even during overload of the encoder, processor usage will never be100% and some processor cycles are left available for other threadsrunning on that processor. As an example, for media encoders configuredto process video frames on portable devices, a sleep period of 5 ms isoften suitable.

In the above examples, it has for simplicity been assumed that eachcamera frame corresponds to a single data buffer, however, a cameraframe could be represented by a plurality of data buffers. Equally, asingle data buffer could represent more than one camera frame.Generally, a buffer can be any portion of data on which the encoder isconfigured to operate, with buffers being of fixed or variable size asappropriate to the particular implementation.

The adaptation controller of the examples described herein allows theload on the encoder to be managed in a manner which is independent ofthe particular encoder implementation. For example, the encodersubsystem could be embodied in hardware, software or any combination ofhardware and software components. The adaptation controller enablesaccurate control of a media encoder even on a platform that utilisesprocessor scaling (e.g. frequency adaptation in accordance with a powersaving scheme) and operates well on encoders supported at both singleand multi-core processors. The adaptation controller is particularlysuitable for performing adaptation at a media encoder arranged toperform real-time encoding of media frames (e.g. video frames from acamera), as well as media encoders arranged to perform encoding of mediaframes played-out at a rate in accordance with their timestamps (e.g. arecorded stream of video frames).

It can be further advantageous to arrange that a decoder to which theencoder is providing its encoded media stream is informed of adaptationof the encoder. For example, for a pair of devices supporting a two-wayvideo telephone link, this can help to avoid significant asymmetries invideo quality. At each device, the encoder and decoder would typicallybe sharing resources. Thus, if a first one of the devices is morepowerful than the second of the devices, or if the relative processingresources of the devices changed dynamically due to (e.g.) processorscaling effected for various reasons, it is possible to have a situationwhere the first device transmits a high quality encoded stream to thesecond device which the second device can decode but at the expense ofsignificantly limiting the resources available to the encoder of thesecond device. This might lead to the second device encoding andtransmitting a low quality stream to the first device, and hence asignificant asymmetry between the encode qualities of the video streamspassing each way between the two devices.

By arranging that the encoder at each device of a communicating pairknows at least some of the encode parameters of the encoder at the otherdevice, each encoder can avoid selecting such high quality encodesettings that the other device will be forced to significantly lower itsown encode quality. A decoder can be informed of adaptation of theencoder by arranging that the adaptation controller cause a signal to betransmitted with the encoded media stream to the decoder. This signalcould be provided in the video stream, for example in metadata of thestream such as packet headers. Such information could be included as afurther input to an adaptation algorithm of the adaptation controller soas to allow the adaptation controller to control the encode parametersof its associated encoder additionally in dependence on the receivedinformation.

To give a particular example, consider a video call between a firstdevice encoding a video stream from its camera at 640×480 and a seconddevice which has been forced to encode a video stream from its camera at160×120. This would represent a macroblock processing demand ratio of16:1. As a result of arranging that the second device inform the firstdevice of its adaptation down to a resolution of 160×120, the firstdevice could respond by reducing its encode resolution to 320×240. Inturn the reduction in load at the second device might allow that deviceto increase its resolution to 320×240 and address the quality asymmetry.

In a device performing multi-party video conferencing, quality asymmetrycan be inherently present and allowed by design since displayed video isa result of decoding streams from one or more participants which placesa higher demand on available computing resources, potentially leavingfewer resources available for the encoder. In this scenario, the decodermacroblock processing demand associated with the various video streams(perhaps expressed as an average or maximum value) or some other(potentially normalized) metric may be compared with the encoder demandat the device to identify imbalances in quality asymmetry. In order tobalance the quality asymmetry, the encoder may signal to one or moredevices in the manner described above so as to cause them to alter theirrespective encode qualities.

Generally, an encoder subsystem as described herein will form part of amedia codec (encoder-decoder) of a data processing system. A calibrationsystem for such a codec will now be described.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a data processing system having acalibration system 702 for calibrating an adaptive codec comprising anencoder subsystem 102 and a decoder subsystem 701. The encoder subsystemperforms encoding in accordance with a set of one or more encodeparameters (e.g. a target encode bitrate). As shown in FIG. 7, theencoder subsystem 102 could be the same encoder subsystem described inrelation to FIGS. 1 to 6, comprising a pre-processor 103, input queue106, encoder 104, and packetizer 105. More generally however, thecalibration system described herein could be used with any encodersubsystem arranged to perform encoding in accordance with a set of oneor more encode parameters, the demand on the encoder subsystem varyingin dependence on the encode parameters.

Media frames encoded and decoded by the codec are associated withtimestamps so as to enable the media stream to be presented at thecorrect rate. A frame could comprise its associated timestamp or thetimestamps could be provided separately—for example, as a stream oftiming information associated with the stream of media frames. Howeverthe timestamps are associated with the frames, the frames can be said tobe time-stamped.

As has been discussed, it is often difficult to identify the encode anddecode capabilities of a data processing system at any given point intime because of the complexity of the underlying architecture, processorscaling, and the competition for resources by other processes orhardware operating in the data processing system. The calibration systemprovides a mechanism for identifying the set of encode parameters whichcorrespond to the greatest steady-state demand on the media codec thatallows a decoder of the decoder subsystem 701 to perform decoding at therate indicated by the timestamps. In other words, the calibration systemidentifies the maximum capability of the codec at the point at which thecalibration is performed.

Calibration system 702 comprises a calibration monitor 703 and datastore 704. The calibration system 702 can be arranged to performcalibration of the media codec on the codec entering a calibration mode.Such a calibration mode could be selected, for example, by a user of thedevice at which the codec is embodied, periodically, or in response to apredetermined trigger such as the installation of application in adevice or first time power-up of an embedded device after factory reset.

The data store 704 holds an encoded media stream representing a sequenceof time-stamped frames. In order to calibrate the media codec, thecalibration monitor 703 causes the stored encoded media stream to beplayed-out from the data store to the decoder subsystem 701 so as tocause the decoder subsystem to decode the frames. Further, the output706 of the decoder subsystem is fed back to the input of the encodersubsystem 102 so as to cause the decoded frames to be re-encoded backinto an encoded media stream (which may or may not be in the form ofdata packets, depending on whether packetizer 105 is present and formspart of the encode path in the encoder subsystem). The re-encoded mediastream is then looped back into the decoder subsystem for decoding

By looping the re-encoded media stream back into the decoder subsystem,a closed loop is formed between the encoder and decoder subsystems ofthe codec such that the demand on both the encoder and decodersubsystems varies with the encode parameters in accordance with whichencoding is performed. Decoded media frames 706 pass between the decoderand encoder subsystems. If the codec becomes overloaded, the decoderwill not be able to generate the stream of frames at the rate indicatedby the timestamps associated with the frames. Since the encoder anddecoder are coupled together, this may be due to either or both of theencoder and decoder subsystems being unable to perform encoding and/ordecoding at the required rate.

In order to identify the greatest steady-state demand on the media codecthat allows the decoder to perform decoding at the rate indicated by thetimestamps, the encode parameters of the encoder are varied so as toincrease or decrease the demand on the media codec. The variation of theencode parameters could be controlled by the calibration monitor or byan adaptation algorithm of the encoder subsystem. The calibrationmonitor 703 is configured to identify the steady-state demand (andassociated encode parameters) above which the decoder becomes unable toperform decoding at the required rate. The maximal encode parametersassociated with that highest steady-state demand can subsequently beused by the media codec when it is next called on to perform encoding.

In the event that the encoder subsystem comprises an adaptive encoder,the encoder subsystem can be configured to adapt its encode parametersin accordance with its adaptation algorithm so as to identify itsmaximum steady-state capabilities—this can be referred to as a “short”calibration mode. The calibration monitor identifies the encodeparameters corresponding to the greatest steady-state demand on themedia codec as the maximal encode parameters for the codec. Thecalibration monitor is not configured to cause the encode parameters tovary in this mode; the encode parameters are adapted according to anysuitable adaptation algorithm in operation at or operated on the encodersubsystem. For example, the encoder subsystem could be controlled by anadaptive control system 100 as described in relation to FIG. 1. Thedecoder subsystem could also be adaptive, in which case the decodersubsystem can also be permitted to adapt its decode parameters in thecalibration mode of the codec.

It can be advantageous to arrange that the stored media stream is playedout from data store 704 so as to overload the encoder and/or decodersubsystems of the codec. In short calibration mode this forces theencoder to adapt downwards until the maximal steady-state demand isreached. A plurality of media streams could be stored at the data storewith the aim of ensuring that there is a media stream suitable for thecapabilities of the data processing system at which the encoder issupported (a media stream could be selected, for example, based on roughstatic parameters of the data processing system). Alternatively, a givenstream could be played out in different ways, e.g. at different framerates.

In “long” calibration mode, the calibration monitor can be configured tocause the encode parameters of the encoder subsystem to vary so as toidentify the steady-state demand (and associated encode parameters)above which the encoder/decoder becomes unable to perform decoding atthe required rate. This can be achieved by causing the codec to becomeoverloaded so as to identify where this threshold demand lies. Forexample, in the long mode the calibration monitor could cause theencoder to initially operate under overload, e.g. by playing out anappropriate stored stream and setting the encode parameters to their“highest quality” values. The calibration monitor can be configured tothen cause the encode parameters to step downwards to “lower quality”values (e.g. lower frame resolutions and rates) until a stable state isachieved that places the greatest demand on the codec withoutoverloading the codec. The calibration monitor can be configured tocause the encode parameters of the encoder subsystem to vary inaccordance with the adaptation algorithm of the system—for example, theadaptation algorithm of an adaptation controller as discussed withrespect to FIG. 1.

It can be useful to arrange that the calibration system cause theencoder to sleep for a determined period following the encoding of eachframe. This allows a stored media stream to be used to calibrate dataprocessing systems that would not otherwise be overloaded by the storedmedia stream. For example, if an encoder thread operating on a 10 fpsstored video stream is arranged to sleep for a period of 50 ms sleepafter each successfully encoded frame, the calibration system willeffectively be determining the point of overload for the encodersupported at a processor (e.g. CPU supporting the encoder thread)running at 50% of its maximum. If 75 ms sleep is inserted, then overloadwill be determined for the processor running at 25% of its maximum. Thisallows codecs supported at data processing systems having a wide rangeof capabilities to be calibrated by the calibration system.

It can be advantageous to arrange that the long calibration mode is runfor long enough to activate time-delayed thermal throttling mechanismsavailable at the processing device at which the codec is supported. Thisensures that the calibrated maximal steady-state demand is the maximumdemand which the codec is capable of handling under thermal throttlingof the processing device at which it is supported.

The calibration monitor can be configured to monitor the load at one orboth of the encoder and decoder subsystems, but typically only the loadat the encoder need be monitored because encoding is generally a moreprocessor-intensive operation than decoding. The load at only one of theencoder and decoder subsystems need be monitored because the encoder anddecoder are coupled together: if either one of the encoder and decodersubsystems becomes overloaded then the codec as a whole will be unableto maintain the required rate of frame processing. As appropriate to theparticular codec, the calibration monitor could be further configured tocause decode parameters of the decoder subsystem to vary so as toidentify the demand (and associated encode and decode parameters) abovewhich the encoder/decoder becomes unable to perform decoding at therequired rate. The decode parameters could be varied in dependence onthe encode parameters selected for the encoder. Typically however, thedecode parameters of the decoder subsystem would be inferred from theencoded stream it receives for decoding.

The calibration system can support one or both of the short and longcalibration modes. The system can make the encode parameters or ameasure of the demand corresponding to those parameters (e.g. in macroblocks per second) to the codec or other components of the device atwhich the codec is supported. This performance information can be usedas a measure of the capabilities of the codec and, in the case that thecodec is a video telephony codec, the performance information can beused in call negotiation.

It can be advantageous to arrange that, when the media encoder is not ina calibration mode and the encoder subsystem achieves steady-stateencoding of a media stream through adaptation of its encode parameters,the calibration system stores those encode parameters corresponding tothe steady-state as calibration estimates. The encoder subsystem canthen make use of those estimated encode parameters the next time it iscalled upon to perform encoding. For example, for an encoder of a devicefor performing video telephony, the estimated encode parameters can beused in the absence of calibrated encode parameters when a newconnection or call is established to a receiving device. Such estimatedencode parameters could be used, for example, if the media codec is notable to perform calibration before it is next called upon to performencoding, or if stored calibrated encode parameters obtained throughperformance of calibration routines are older than a predefined lengthof time. The calibration system can be configured to store estimatedencode parameters used at the encoder subsystem in response to overloadoccurring and, through adaptation, a set of steady-state encodeparameters being reached.

In the event that the media frames are video frames, in order to allowfor the additional demands on the encoder subsystem associated withframe rescaling, it is advantageous to arrange that the encodersubsystem perform rescaling of the media frames it receives. Forexample, the calibration monitor can be configured to causepre-processor 103 to perform rescaling by reducing the size of receivedframes 706. The corresponding demand (e.g. in macroblocks per second) onthe encoder subsystem can then include the processing overheadassociated with the rescaling operation.

For codecs for use at a device arranged to communicate encoded mediadata over a network, it is further advantageous if an optional networksimulator 705 is provided to introduce a predefined rate of data lossand/or jitter into the encoded media stream. For example, data packetscarrying the encoded media stream and generated at packetizer 105 can bepassed through the network simulator in order to introduce a given levelof packet loss and/or jitter into the packet stream prior to deliveryback to the decoder subsystem. This ensures that any processing loadsresulting from packet errors are taken into account in the calibrationprocess. The level of packet loss and/or jitter could be, for example,fixed, or could be selected in response to levels of packet loss and/orjitter measured by the device at which the codec is provided.

The adaptive control system and media encoder of FIG. 1, and thecalibration system and media codec of FIG. 7, are shown as comprising anumber of functional blocks. This is for illustrative purposes only andis not intended to define a strict division between different parts ofhardware on a chip or between different programs, procedures orfunctions in software. The adaptive control system may or may not formpart of the encoder subsystem, and the calibration system may or may notform part of the codec.

In the particular examples described herein, a frame is a frame of avideo stream. A video stream could be encoded according to, for example,an MPEG or ITU standard, such as H.264. More generally however, a frameis any chunk of media data, such as a portion of an audio stream.

Data processing systems configured in accordance with the presentinvention could be embodied in hardware, software or any suitablecombination of hardware and software. A data processing system of thepresent invention could comprise, for example, software for execution atone or more processors (such as at a CPU and/or GPU), and/or one or morededicated processors (such as ASICs), and/or one or more programmableprocessors (such as FPGAs) suitably programmed so as to providefunctionalities of the data processing system, and/or heterogeneousprocessors comprising one or more dedicated, programmable and generalpurpose processing functionalities. In preferred embodiments of thepresent invention, data processing systems comprise one or moreprocessors and one or more memories having program code stored thereon,the data processors and the memories being such as to, in combination,provide the claimed data processing systems and/or perform the claimedmethods.

The term software as used herein includes executable code for processors(e.g. CPUs and/or GPUs), firmware, bytecode, programming language codesuch as C or OpenCL, and modules for reconfigurable logic devices suchas FPGAs. Machine-readable code includes software and code for defininghardware, such as register transfer level (RTL) code as might begenerated in Verilog or VHDL.

Any one or more of the data processing methods described herein could beperformed by one or more physical processing units executing programcode that causes the unit(s) to perform the data processing methods.Each physical processing unit could be any suitable processor, such as aCPU or GPU (or a core thereof), or fixed function or programmablehardware. The program code could be stored in non-transitory form at amachine readable medium such as an integrated circuit memory, or opticalor magnetic storage. A machine readable medium might comprise severalmemories, such as on-chip memories, computer working memories, andnon-volatile storage devices.

The applicant hereby discloses in isolation each individual featuredescribed herein and any combination of two or more such features, tothe extent that such features or combinations are capable of beingcarried out based on the present specification as a whole in the lightof the common general knowledge of a person skilled in the art,irrespective of whether such features or combinations of features solveany problems disclosed herein, and without limitation to the scope ofthe claims. The applicant indicates that aspects of the presentinvention may consist of any such individual feature or combination offeatures. In view of the foregoing description it will be evident to aperson skilled in the art that various modifications may be made withinthe scope of the invention.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An adaptive control system for a mediaencoder configured to encode a media data stream in accordance with aset of one or more encode parameters, the system comprising: an inputqueue configured to receive a sequence of data portions representing themedia data stream, each data portion having an associated timestamp; andan adaptation controller configured to generate an accumulationparameter indicative of an incidence of accumulation events at the inputqueue within an accumulation interval, each accumulation eventrepresenting reception of an incoming data portion into the input queuewhile a previous data portion in the sequence is in the input queue;wherein the adaptation controller is further configured to: on eachaccumulation event occurring in the input queue within the accumulationinterval, calculate the time difference between the timestamp of theincoming data portion and the timestamp of the previous data portion,form the accumulation parameter by summing over the time differencescalculated in respect of the accumulation events occurring within theaccumulation interval and expressing the sum of the time differences asa proportion of the accumulation interval, and control the encodeparameters of the media encoder in dependence on the accumulationparameter.
 2. The adaptive control system as claimed in claim 1, theadaptation controller being configured to control the encode parametersof the media encoder so as to adapt the encoding performed by the mediaencoder in response to variations in resources available to the mediaencoder.
 3. The adaptive control system as claimed in claim 1, theaccumulation parameter representing a measure of the proportion of dataportions received into the input queue that result in accumulationevents.
 4. The adaptive control system as claimed in claim 1, theadaptation controller being configured to, on reaching the end of theaccumulation interval, control the set of encode parameters of the mediaencoder in dependence on the accumulation parameter calculated inrespect of the accumulation interval.
 5. The adaptive control system asclaimed in claim 1, the adaptation controller being configured to usethe accumulation parameter as a measure of load on the media encoder inan adaptation algorithm arranged to control the set of encode parametersof the media encoder so as to substantially maintain the load on themedia encoder within predetermined bounds.
 6. The adaptive controlsystem as claimed in claim 5, the adaptation controller being configuredto use the accumulation parameter as a measure of load on the mediaencoder by comparing the accumulation parameter to a set of thresholdvalues so as to identify a corresponding one of a plurality of loadmetrics for use in the adaptation algorithm.
 7. The adaptive controlsystem as claimed in claim 6, the adaptation controller being configuredto make use of a hysteresis component in performing said comparison soas to prevent changes in the load metric due to small changes in theaccumulation parameter.
 8. The adaptive control system as claimed inclaim 1, further comprising a data store holding a hierarchy of sets ofone or more encode parameters each having an associated demand on themedia encoder, the adaptation controller being arranged to selectbetween causing the media encoder to, in dependence on the measure ofload represented by the accumulation parameter: maintain its current setof encode parameters; adapt upward to a set of encode parametersassociated with a greater demand on the media encoder; and adaptdownward to a set of encode parameters associated with a lesser demandon the media encoder.
 9. The adaptive control system as claimed in claim8, wherein the associated demand held in the data store for each set ofencode parameters represents a minimum data processing rate required ofthe media encoder.
 10. The adaptive control system as claimed in claim8, the adaptation controller being configured to, in response to causingthe media encoder to adapt upwards and subsequently to adapt backdownwards within a predetermined length of time, not cause the mediaencoder to adapt upwards within an adaptation interval.
 11. The adaptivecontrol system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the adaptation intervalis calculated by increasing the current value of the adaptation intervalsubstantially in proportion to the current value of the adaptationinterval.
 12. The adaptive control system as claimed in claim 10,wherein the adaptation interval is calculated by increasing the currentvalue of the adaptation interval substantially in proportion to theratio of a measure of the demand on the media encoder associated withthe next encode parameters up in the hierarchy to a measure of thedemand on the media encoder associated with the current encodeparameters in the hierarchy.
 13. The adaptive control system as claimedin claim 1, wherein each data portion received into the input queueincludes an associated timestamp and the sequence of data portions isreceived at the input queue such that consecutive data portions in thesequence are received spaced apart in time substantially in accordancewith their respective timestamps.
 14. The adaptive control system asclaimed in claim 1, the input queue being decoupled from the source ofthe data portions such that the rate of reception of data portions atthe input queue does not depend on the rate of encoding of the dataportions by the media encoder.
 15. A method of controlling a mediaencoder that encodes a media data stream in accordance with a set of oneor more encode parameters, the method comprising: receiving a sequenceof data portions representing the media data stream at an input queue,each data portion having an associated timestamp; and generating anaccumulation parameter indicative of an incidence of accumulation eventsat the input queue, each accumulation event representing the receptionof an incoming data portion into the input queue while a previous dataportion in the sequence is in the input queue; wherein the step ofgenerating an accumulation parameter comprises: on each accumulationevent occurring in the input queue within an accumulation interval,calculating a time difference between the timestamp of the incoming dataportion and the timestamp of the previous data portion, summing over thetime differences calculated in respect of the accumulation eventsoccurring within the accumulation interval, and expressing the sum ofthe time differences as a proportion of the accumulation interval, saidproportion being the accumulation parameter; and controlling the encodeparameters of the media encoder in dependence on the accumulationparameter.
 16. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium havingstored thereon computer readable instructions that, when executed at acomputer system for generating a representation of a digital circuitfrom definitions of circuit elements and data defining rules forcombining those circuit elements, cause at least one processor of thecomputer system to generate an adaptive control system comprising: aninput queue configured to receive a sequence of data portionsrepresenting a media data stream, each data portion having an associatedtimestamp; and an adaptation controller configured to generate anaccumulation parameter indicative of an incidence of accumulation eventsat the input queue within an accumulation interval, each accumulationevent representing reception of an incoming data portion into the inputqueue while a previous data portion in the sequence is in the inputqueue; wherein the adaptation controller is further configured to: oneach accumulation event occurring in the input queue within theaccumulation interval, calculate the time difference between thetimestamp of the incoming data portion and the timestamp of the previousdata portion, form the accumulation parameter by summing over the timedifferences calculated in respect of the accumulation events occurringwithin the accumulation interval and expressing the sum of the timedifferences as a proportion of the accumulation interval, and controlthe encode parameters of the media encoder in dependence on theaccumulation parameter.
 17. A non-transitory computer readable storagemedium having stored thereon computer executable instructions that whenexecuted cause at least one processor to: receive a sequence of dataportions representing a media data stream at an input queue, each dataportion having an associated timestamp; generate an accumulationparameter indicative of an incidence of accumulation events at the inputqueue, each accumulation event representing the reception of an incomingdata portion into the input queue while a previous data portion in thesequence is in the input queue; wherein the step of generating anaccumulation parameter comprises: on each accumulation event occurringin the input queue within an accumulation interval, calculating a timedifference between the timestamp of the incoming data portion and thetimestamp of the previous data portion, summing over the timedifferences calculated in respect of the accumulation events occurringwithin the accumulation interval, and expressing the sum of the timedifferences as a proportion of the accumulation interval, saidproportion being the accumulation parameter; and control encodeparameters of a media encoder configured to encode said data portions independence on the accumulation parameter.